Boards, Nails and Elfin Tails
by Omega-Red9
Summary: Kurt's journey growing up.  Will get pretty serious at some points.  Please R & R.


Sorry about the super long hiatus, but I was concentrating on a degree and more professional writing. I hope that you understand that it wasn't that I didn't want to be a part of the community, but that I couldn't. In fact, I will more than likely not be very prolific here as I am just trying to get back to my roots so as to get rid of this terrible case of writer's block. But who knows, perhaps I will find something here that I didn't have before. After all, we all have to grow as writers at some point.

I truly hope you enjoy this work. It is my first venture into the X-Men Evolution universe, but I have always been a huge fan of Kurt. And please don't bother mentioning that some of this not in line with the canon. So I hope you enjoy my take on his character. As usual I don't own any of the characters, but I would be more than happy to take them off Stan the Man's hands for him.

Boards, Nails, and Elfin Tails

Episode 1

"It wasn't me! Please believe me!"

Even in the pitch darkness, the looks on their faces, illuminated by nothing but dim flickering torch light, were irrepressible. Burning a hole through his chest with their hatred.

"We know it was you. You are the outsider. You who brought this sickness to our peaceful village. You who killed our crops with the bitter winter. You who killed our children. There is no arguing. Only the pure recognize evil when we see it. And we do not owe evil or anyone an explanation, for we have God on our side."

The young man on the ground struggled against his restraints, but the vicious beating he received at the hands of his peers had weakened him greatly. "What you are doing is illegal. I deserve a trial. I deserve…" but he could not finish as a hard boot slammed his jaw shut and cracked the back of his head into the thick pine board lying beneath him.

"Rights are for men. You are a demon. Besides, the laws of God supercede those of man. We must do our duty to the Lord to vanquish His sworn enemies."

Tears now began to stream in earnest from the young boy's face. There was no use in pretending to be brave anymore.

"Normally we would burn those who do what you did, but you are too worthless for an honor such as purification by fire. Goodbye demon. You will terrorize us no longer."

As the young man pleaded with the crowd surrounding him for mercy, begging anyone for help, he could only see the anger, the hate that resides in men's hearts. Suddenly, a large wooden plank was placed on top of the open box he was in, and the young man came to the cruel realization that he was not in simply a box for restrain, he was in a coffin. He tried desperately to kick the board away, but soon was even unable to rattle it as it was securely attached with several nails. Now, in complete darkness, the boy resigned himself to the death that he was sure was to come. He felt his final resting place. The wood was coarse and rough on his soft hands. He could feel several splinters in his legs from where he tried to kick the board out. He was even sure he could feel a small pool of blood forming on the bottom from his extensive injuries. The sticky residue seemed to bring added resistance, breaking his spirit even further. As if the situation couldn't get any worse, he could now smell the wood, which seemed to be taken from a horse stall, bringing with it all of the diverse aromas that manure has to offer. Then it happened. Silence. No longer were the villagers cheering having vanquished the villain. Not even a single whisper could be heard from the wind rustling a tree branch. Just the unending blackness that had completely encompassed the young man existed, and was now stretching its claws around his psyche, driving him to insanity in his last moments on earth.

As if sensing his thoughts and anxiety, the coffin rapidly began to bounce around, slamming the boy into the sides, up, down, and side-to-side. The rattling assaulted his delicate frame, leaving him completely unable to protect himself from the unpredictable movements of the coffin. Then, for the briefest of moments the movement stopped, giving the boy the smallest flicker of hope that it was all over, and he would soon wake up to find himself in his parents house. His reverie was cut short however by a dramatic freefall and the all too harsh stop at what the boy could only imagine as a pit into hell.

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

Darkness.

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

Loneliness.

FWAPP!

FWAPP!  
FWAPP!

Scared.

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

Castigated.

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

Abandoned.

FWAPP…

FWAPP…

Fwapp…

Alone.

"No. Please. No," the boy whispered, knowing that even the loudest pleas would fall on deaf ears.

6 Months Earlier

"She is beautiful", thought the 12 year old boy, spying from a distance on a girl his age just outside the tree line. Never in his confined life had he seen a creature so beautiful. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to step forward and talk to her. But he knew that despite a friend being the only thing in the world that he truly wants, that to reveal himself would mean nothing but trouble, and above all else, rejection. "No one could ever accept me," was a thought that often crept into his mind. Despite his parent's assurances that there will be a time and a place for that, he knew that they were just trying to appease him.

Looking down at the stream running through his toes, he saw his reflection. He sighed and muttered to himself, "How can anyvun like someone covered in blue fur?"

As he looked past his reflection he saw his misshapen toes and remembered that his smooth fur wasn't the only thing unusual about. He knew that no one would ever love him, and with that he glanced one last time at the beautiful auburn haired girl so he could commit her face to memory. He then turned to go, making sure to stay on the stream so no one could follow his tracks.

The forest was in rare form today. Eve3rything seemed to be at peace with itself. As if the dawn brought the beginning of a new era. Here, was where he could be himself, without anyone finding out. He would often go home, not by way of the stream, but by swing through the trees, a talent he picked up after seeing an old video taken of circus performers. He had actually become quite good at it, and grown a tight muscular body from his workouts. Somehow it came easy to him, he chalked it up to his unique hands and feet, as well as the tail that he usually kept hidden, except when hanging from tree branches.

As he approached his house, he could here the sounds of his adoptive mother singing, as she usually did when she cooked. It always kept him happy, and she knew that.

"Kurt."

The boy winced at his name. "Yes father."

The tall man towered over his son, crossing his arms with a look on his face that said he meant business. "You know that you are not to leave the property, especially during the day time. Can you imagine what would happen if you were spotted? You could have been killed."

Kurt simply scoffed and kicked a pebble that was on the ground. "Maybe I don't care."

His father grabbed his son by the collar and jerked him towards him. "Now you listen to me. Your presence puts everyone at risk, you, me, and your mother. When you take risks like this just to indulge yourself you risk bringing real danger to our doorstep. Now your mother and I have done everything we can to provide you with a happy life, a family, food, a home. It would be poor repayment to bring that kind of trouble into our house. If I catch breaking these rules again I will tan your hide like you won't believe. Are we clear?"

Kurt could see how serious his Father was, he never talked like this. Kurt nodded his head and was brought into a hug so tight it cut of his breath. "I love you son. Please don't scare me like that." The sternness in his voice now completely gone, his Father had adopted a more sensitive tone.

Kurt did his best to follow his parents' restrictive rules, but the image of that girl wouldn't leave his head, and he soon could no longer fight the temptation to venture into the world for just one more look. It wasn't long that he discovered that the girl would take daily walks, weather permitting. So Kurt found several places along her usual route to spy on her, and everyday he would use his clever mind to trick his parents into thinking he was home so that he could go to see her. It was one summer day, after a particularly hard rainfall that changed everything.

Part of the girl's usual path took her to the river. She would usually stand on the bank and look at the waters moving by. Of course with the recent rain, the water level was slightly higher and faster than usual. As she bent over to look closer at some flowers, the bank gave way, and she fell into the river. Kurt, without even think leapt out to save her, but was too late. Seeing the young girl quickly being carried down stream, he knew he only had one chance. Running as fast as he could on all fours, the love struck boy finally caught up with his crush. Seeing what he was looking for a few yards down stream he bolted for a downed tree that stretched across the river. It was too high for the girl to reach, but with Kurt there, it was possible to save her.

Kurt unleashed his tail from his cloak and wrapped it around the trunk. He had never put this much weight on his tail but he had to try. Flipping upside down over the river, he reached his three fingered hand down and gripped the young girl tightly pulling her up to relative safety.

The girl, weeping and shivering, pressed herself into Kurt, burying her face in his chest. Shocked, he was frozen. He had never actually felt the touch of another person aside from his parents. The sensation was indescribable. Smiling, he gently embraced her, slowly bringing her back to her senses, slowing her tears.

"You're blue. And fuzzy." The girl said, somewhat astonished by her rescuer.

"Iz zat so strange?"

"Well, yeah, I've never seen someone like you before."

Kurt thought for a moment and the grinned, "Well, I have never seen someone go swimming in a raging river before, much less in a dress. So I suppose we are both a little weird, da?"

The girl laughed. Kurt couldn't help but fall in love with it. It was light and whimsical. In every way a laugh that Kurt had never had.

This close, Kurt could see the girl's finer features. Even after being thrown into the river, she looked beautiful. Her lips were lush, and her eyelashes simply seemed to bat the stress over what was transpiring away. Her cheeks were blushing, a sharp contrast to her green eyes. Kurt gently took her hand and picked her up. As he carried her off the tree, he never once took his eyes off of her.

"I think zat you had better get home. I am sure your parents will worry about you."

The girl nodded and slowly began her walk back home. Kurt just stood there and watched in awe. She stopped and turned back to Kurt. "Will I see you again?"

Kurt gave it some thought and realized that he was actually making a friend. "I don't see why we can't. But you must promise me that you will tell no one."

"I promise. My names Ilsa by the way.

Kurt couldn't help but think that her name was even beautiful. "Kurt."

"Well, thank you Kurt. I hope to see you soon."

Over the next few months their friendship grew. Kurt learned that she was considered to be the most beautiful girl in the village and as a result most of the other girls her age shun her out of jealousy, and all of her male friends are getting to that age where they start acting weird around girls. So she is usually alone. Kurt explained how he related to her and they both knew that they had found kindred spirits. For the first time in his life, Kurt was happy. At least, until that night.

It all happened so fast that recollecting it was difficult. The villagers found Ilsa's body just outside the village. She had been raped and murdered. Kurt was heartbroken when he learned what had happened. But he did not know that the worst was soon to come. Apparently Ilsa kept a diary. And in that diary she detailed greatly the relationship that she had with Kurt. Her parents found it and assumed the worst. Finding descriptions of Kurt and a lock of his hair was more than the proof they needed. They began a man hunt for the blue demon.

Knowing there was a couple that lived in the woods near where Ilsa would meet Kurt, they started there. Kurt's mother and father were helpless as he was taken. Screaming for mercy, their child was ripped out of their arms. As Kurt was beaten and carried away, he could see that fire had been set upon his home. He could only pray that his parents made it out alive.

And now he finds himself buried underground. Helpless. Alone. All he could do was cry and think of poor Ilsa, and how her killer would never be found. No one would bother looking for her now that they found the "real" killer. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was in a better place. He imagined he was still on that collapsed tree with Ilsa, squeezing herself into his chest. Then as if by magic, BAMF!, he felt a cool breeze and could hear the rushing of the water below him. Opening his eyes he saw that he was exactly on that tree trunk. Crying, Kurt believed that God had intervened and turned back time. Turing with hopes of seeing Ilsa standing on the banks he soon realized that he was alone.

Now resolute, he stood and ran home to see his parents and hold them. All he wanted now was to be happy again. Still believing all was well, his dream came crashing down when he saw the state of his home. All that remained was a smoldering foundation, still smoking. His parents, no where to be found. All Kurt could do was faint.

It was not long before Kurt awoke. But instead of waking up in the remains of his happy home, he was in a hospital. Or at least what he had been told hospitals look like, never being allowed to enter one himself.

"I'm glad to see you're awake."

Shocked at the alien voice next to him he turned hoping to see a familiar face, only to be disappointed yet again.

"Where am I? Where is my family?"

The man in his room smiled. "Calm down Kurt. Your parents are fine. You are in a hospital. You are quite injured."

This news seemed unbelievable to him. "But… how?"

"The same way that I knew your name. You see, I am what is known as a telepath Kurt. But there will be plenty of time to discuss that. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Charles Xavier, and I have an opportunity for you."

Kurt just stared, dumfounded at this stranger who seemed unfazed by his appearance.

Quickly recovering, he asked, "Okay, so what is it?"

So I hope you liked it. Please read and review. I would like to continue with this story if there is an audience interested in reading it, so let me know. And please, constructive criticism only.


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